


The One Where Everyone But Merlin Knows Arthur Fancies Him (We Wish You A Merry Ofsted Remix)

by Narlth



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - School, F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Teachers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-06-02 11:48:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6564910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narlth/pseuds/Narlth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone knows Arthur has a crush on the new teacher. Everyone, it seems except the object of that crush, but the looming Ofsted inspection could be the perfect opportunity for them both to admit their feelings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arthur

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nomical](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nomical/gifts).
  * Inspired by [We Wish You A Merry Ofsted](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2751794) by [nomical](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nomical/pseuds/nomical). 



> I hope this is at least sort of along the lines you were imagining. <3

Arthur leant back in his chair, rolling his shoulders in an attempt to relieve the tension that had gathered there, as he watched Gwen exit the room. Between her visits and Merlin’s the quiet breaks he used enjoy as time to catch up with any marking still outstanding, had been quickly eased. The pair of them dropping by periodically for a chat. 

Not that he minded of course, when it had just been Gwen, he had enjoyed the time she had been able to spare to visit him between her own work, but now with Merlin working at the school, he actively looked forwards to break times when the skinny teacher would pop by, and in fact he felt almost disappointed when either one of them was too busy or had been roped into playground duty.

No one would ever be able to get him to admit it out loud, but he was falling head first for the cheeky chemistry teacher, and he had no intentions of stopping himself.

His only problem? Discovering whether Merlin felt the same way, without potentially scaring him off if he didn’t.

He would need to keep his own feelings in check for now, instead try and gage whether there was any possibility of Merlin feeling something more than friendship, but also to try and prevent their colleges being noisy as they invariably would be.

Arthur dragged a hand up through his hair, letting his eyes drop closed for a moment.

Long seconds passed, before he came to the conclusion that there really was no use letting his mind linger so much over something he had no control over, and that he’d better get back to his marking before break ended.


	2. Elena

Pushing open the door to the staff room, Elena adjusted her bag strap as her eyes landed on the figures of Merlin and Arthur sat in the corner of the room on the comfy chairs. Allowing the corner of her mouth to twitch upwards, she slinked across the room smiling and greeting her fellow teachers as she went. 

She thought it sweet how Arthur had taken to looking after the school noob, not that he needed taking care of, just that it was nice to see Arthur’s more protective side brought out.

She reached the pair just as Merlin burst into a series of painful sounding coughs, pausing just a few feet away from them, waiting for one of the pair to notice her arrival.

A few seconds later and she had to resist rolling her eyes as they remained oblivious to her presence. 

“Hello boys - oh my you look positively dreadful Merlin.” She meant every word, his usually pale skin was almost grey tinged, and his eyes were more than a little bleary. Concern bloomed visibly on her face, as he offered a weak smile in reply whilst Arthur responded verbally on behalf of them both.

“Anyone have the Metro?” She flopped back into one of the free chairs as she spoke, watching as one of Arthur’s eyebrows rose in apparent incredulity. Trust him to have such strong feelings over newspapers of anything, then she had to resist the urge to coo as Merlin tried to offer up his own copy. At times they really did seemed so different to each other, it seemed opposites really were attracted… 

“Thanks love, but your paper should probably be burnt to prevent the spread of disease.” She waved her hand in the direction of Merlin’s bag in a request for him to leave the paper where it was, lest she actually have to go through with her threat.

“All the Metro is good for really.” Arthur’s comment was half muttered but she heard it clearly enough, and judging by Merlin’s expression he did too. She rolled her tongue for a moment as she formulated her answer.

“Don’t be such a classist.” Her tone was as serious as she could make it, though Arthur clearly saw right through it.

“As if we don’t have the exact same financial background. Where is your vacation home again? Spain? Austria?”

Her cheeks warmed as she was forced to admit that her family owned property in both, locations, though with justifiable reasons she thought. Arthur smirked in assessment, and she knew her cheeks turned an even brighter shade of pink. She tried to explain her need for something that required no brain power.

“Shut up, I like my trashy papers okay? It’s a fun way to start the day before the lull of academia sets in.” 

Of course Arthur protested, “you teach P.E!”

Elena was about to retort, but upon seeing Merlin _badly_ attempt to hide a snigger as yet another cough, she decided to leave it. Let them have their fun now.

Instead their conversation turned towards her partner, Gwaine, that was until Merlin who just seemed to have got his cough under control found himself attack with another fit in the midst of an attempted yawn. Her eyebrows lowered in slightly concern.

“Merlin, are you fit to teach today?” 

“Don’t worry Ellie, Arthur’s taking care of me.” She almost wanted to reach out and pet him, he really did look completely pathetic, but she settled with snorting instead.

“Arthur’s taking care of you?” It wasn’t that she thought he was incapable… more that she knew the blond teacher, that his every move was calculated.

“Try not to read too much into that love; it makes him feel good about himself to pretend he’s chivalrous.” An idea popped into her head as she spoke. “Speaking of which.” Breaking eye contact, she fished through her bag retrieving her thermos.

“Mind making me a pot?” She batted her eyelashes and offered her sweetest smile, the one that made the corners of her eyes crinkle, and dimples appear in her cheeks.

“You’re perfectly capable of brewing your own pot. Why do I have to make it?” How predictable that he would protest having to brew drinks if they weren’t for Merlin. He was clearly in need of some more persuasion.

Tilting her head a little, she made her eyes as wide as possible, then lets her eyelashes flutter once more, but it only set him on the defensive.

That was until Merlin chimed back in, ever the sweetie.

“Go on then Arthur, you made my drink, why not fill the lady’s cup?”

Keeping her eyes fixed on Arthur she could not help the satisfied grin that spread across her face as she saw his resolve finally crack, and adding a final quip to seal the deal.

“Yeah Arthur, you made Merlin’s drink, better make mine too. Don’t want to start playing favourites.” And bless Merlin if he didn’t let such a confused expression cross his face, his eyes trailing between her and Arthur’s faces, before he finally seemed to resign himself to not understanding.

“You know there’s a Metro app you can download for your phone, right?”

Elena nodded in reply, humming a noncommittal answer, before shouting a final instruction over her shoulder.

“I can show you it, if you would like?” Merlin continued, seeming to think that she wasn’t sure.

“That’s alright lovely, I just prefer the feel of the paper in my hands as I read you know?” She tried to meet his eyes, but was unable as he had let his own wonder over, behind her to where she knew Arthur would be. They were so unsubtle, it was rather funny.


	3. Kara

It was a complete shock to the entire history class when Mr. Pendragon used a meme and _correctly_ , usually teachers appeared so old and out touch with everything modern, just like Mr. Monmouth who was ancient and probably alive at the same time as dinosaurs were regardless of how much he would deny it. Kara found herself staring with wide eyes, almost missing half of what the teacher was actually saying.

“... Believe it or not, yours is not the first generation to discover the internet.” What he was saying did make a bit of sense, she supposed there had to be some adults to make all the websites she used. Her shock was quickly vanished, however at his next words. “Now everyone take out a lined piece of paper and pencil, you’ll want to take notes as we go along. I said paper and pencil, not phones and tablets.” His expression becoming serious. 

She groaned along with half the class, shooting a look to Sefa at her left, as much as he had just claimed to know about the internet, it appeared Mr. Pendragon had yet to discover how amazing tablets were.

”We do this every time, and every time you lose. I do not allow the use of electronic devices as a tool for note-taking unless you specifically have written permission from a teaching assistant, psychologist, doctor, or other working professional.” 

A few murmurs floated around class, and privately Kara ran through a few ideas for convincing her mum to take her to the doctors to get a note allowing her use. It couldn’t be that difficult could it? And then Deagal came out with his rather stupid comment, and she couldn’t help her slight groan. 

 

He was totally sweet, just sometimes… sometimes he just didn’t know when to keep his thoughts to himself, and when their teach rebuked him, she didn’t even try to stop her eyes from rolling. 

Someone behind her even sniggered quietly at the exaggerated expression of defeat the boy pulled, and Kara could not help but silently agree. But of course Mr. Pendragon was ever one against making people feel bad he said.

“It’s already forgotten, as apparently, is this class’s understanding of why taking notes by hand is important.” He then stood suddenly, drawing the whole class’ attention, the usual prattle that lingered in the background of all classrooms suddenly gone.

“Mobiles and tablets, besides the obvious fact of being a distraction, are not useful tools for taking notes. While I encourage you to use them at home and on your own time for what I choose to believe are entirely innocent activities – ” Kara flicked her eyes to the pair of girls sat next to her, meeting their eyes in a moment just a moment before they simultaneously burst into giggles, she even felt her cheeks start to heat up as blue eyes swept in their direction.

She could think of more than a couple of activities she and her friends engaged in that were decidedly _not_ innocent. She tuned back in just in time to see their teacher mime taking a photo with a phone, feeling a little indignant at the blank expression meant to be void of intelligence he pulled whilst doing so.

He then went on to explain why just using a phone to photograph notes didn’t get everyone’s brain working, and why he and his fellow teachers didn’t actually set out to make their students suffer, drawing laughter from said students.

When he finally finished speaking, Kara watched as Vivian stuck her hand in the air almost instantly, blonde hair flicking as her body jerked upwards, she didn’t wait to be asked barring straight ahead.

“Sir, the other teachers let us use our mobiles to take notes.” 

All eyes slide to Mr. Pendragon, waiting.

“Oh, do they?” His words were practically dripping in sarcasm, and one eyebrow inched upwards. “And who precisely allows them in class.”

Eye slid back and Vivian, everyone knowing she was lying, and wondering who she was planning on framing, a glimmer of hope growing.

“Mr. Emrys.” With her utterance of the chemistry teacher's name, it was obvious, to Kara at least that their history teacher had a bit of a thing for the dark haired chemistry teacher and would know that he most definitely did not allow them to use phones in class.

“Really? So if I was to email Mr. Emrys right now he’d corroborate your story?”

It seemed however instead of just calling Vivian out on her lie, he threw her the opportunity to come clean, but of course, Vivian being her usual slightly ditsy self failed to notice and pressed on.

“Yes.”

“It's funny that students don't seem to realise teachers actually talk to each other. I know for a fact Miss. Olaf, that Mr. Emrys does not tolerate the use of said devices in his classroom any more than I do.” Kara found herself rolling her eyes again, of course they talked to each other, especially those two.

She spun on her chair locking eyes with Sefa, and with her back to the teacher pursed her lips like she was about to kiss someone, before winking and after receiving a slightly quizzical smile in return, twisted back. Maybe the two teachers feelings weren’t as obvious as she had thought.


	4. Nimueh

Arthur’s almost constant chatter about the young chemistry teach that had just started at his school was swiftly moving from cute to downright adorable. Right now for example as he tried to justify why he had first insisted on taking Merlin home. Though a few of his reasons actually seemed legitimate, the longer he talked the more far fetched they became, especially when he had begun to talk about how he had roped Merlin into doing his shopping at the same time, and then also spending their weekends together just being completely and utterly nerdy.

The more Arthur talked the more flustered he became, and Nimueh had to admit to herself it was rather entertaining to watch. Normally precise and almost graceful hand gestures became hurried and large. He was clearly smitten with the other teacher, but she doubted he would admit it if asked.

It made her happy to think that her fiance’s brother might finally have found that special person. For all she liked to pretend she didn’t care about Arthur, Nimueh knew deep down she did worry for him. And would want nothing more for him to be happy.

She skooted over a touch as Morgana arrived back at the table, depositing a plethora of drinks on the dark wooden surface, and it was at that moment that Arthur moved onto discussing Merlin’s ankles, Mithian had clearly meant the whole suggestion as a joke, apparently Arthur missed that memo.

But when even the arrival of food failed to change the conversation, Morgana seemingly having had enough chose that moment to try and redirect their chatter.

“ When are you going to work up the nerve to ask dear Mr. Emrys out?” Nimueh decided she should have bet money on Arthur’s reaction as it was exactly as she would have predicted.

“Not happening,” sharp, with a note of finality. Unfortunately she also knew Morgana even better than her ability to predict Arthur’s response, and she couldn’t help the mutter that slipped out, even if Morgana did shoot her a half-glare for it.

“Why ever not? You fancy the pants off him, and anyone that voluntarily spends that much time in your shite-box of a car is either fucked in the head or fancies you back. Although the two aren't mutually exclusive.” Her delivery was so charged by the time she had finished speaking Morgana had almost risen to her feet.

Although she never did relish the thought of fighting, particularly at this time of the day, she couldn't help but be curious as to where things were heading. Reaching out she entwined her fingers with Morgana’s, and tugging gently to get her sat back down.

There was a moment, where the two of them just stared at each other, eyes locked in an unblinking challenge against the other.

But soon enough the moment passed and reality set back in. She watched as Arthur let his eyes fall closed, and then quietly as if the past few minutes hadn’t been emotionally charged, but rather just an everyday conversation.

“My car is not a shite-box.”

His statement made Morgana roll her eyes, and Nimueh had to reign in a snigger that threatened to burst free.

“You, dear brother are an expert deflector. Let’s get back to the part of the conversation about Merlin being one-hundred percent up for it.” This time it was Nimueh who was rolling her eyes, at Morgana, her own logical side winning through.

“One-hundred percent? Leave room for a margin of error.”

“Oh no, he’s _gagging_ for it.” Morgana put heavy emphasis on the word, making Arthur look physically uncomfortable if only for a very brief moment, before it was covered up. 

There was a painful twinge in her chest, watching him agonise over his feelings and how to handle them, and she felt suddenly compelled to try and make him feel better, if only a little.

“Oh love, we aren't taking the piss. We just want you to open your eyes to the fact the two of you are barmy for each other.” She lean forwards a touch as she spoke, about to take his hand only for him to jerk it out of reach before she could even make contact.

“It's not worth the risk.”

Now she felt very uncomfortable herself.

“We do this every week Morgana!” Arthur suddenly burst. “Every week I give you the same answer and I'm sick of it. I just want to have a nice breakfast and move on.” The group froze as he slammed his cutlery against the table. 

“End of discussion.”

Hush fell over them, as Arthur dug into his breakfast, apparently determined to now ignore them, and it seemed as though Morgana had finally dropped the issue, hopefully she had finally registered just how much Arthur did not want to discuss it.

That turned out not to be the case of course, as she then muttered to herself.

“Not if Merlin has anything to say about it.”

Frustrated, Nimueh, knocked her knee against Morgana’s under the table, trying to silently tell her to _lay off already._ Twitching her eyebrows up just seconds later when Morgana turned her glare on her, followed by an almost minute head shake; no.

“Nimueh, did you bring the binder with you? I know you're dying to show me the newest choices.” His sudden question cut straight through their silent conversation.

Snapping her head in his direction it took her a few seconds to actual process what he had said, before her eyes widened and she responded.

“Of course! Always up for a look in the binder.” It was the perfect opportunity to duck away from the awkward looks being exchanged. She made sure to take longer than she actually needed, wanting to give everyone a moment to cool down. 

“Here we are,” she said when she did finally resurface. “Where did we leave off…” Flicking it open she thumbed through the pages looking for one in particular. ”Did you know we finally settled on a colour scheme?”

Arthur happily took the topic starter, giving her a quick nod in thanks.


	5. Mordred

“What are you doing after school tomorrow?” Mordred asked, tapping his pen against his workbook. All around him people were chatting away, not doing the work Mr. Pendragon had set for them, who set cut and stick exercises anyway?

Besides him Kara, hummed trying to remember if she was busy tomorrow or not. She was just opening her mouth to answer when the smack on something being closed cut her off.

As one the whole class went silent, students turning to face the source of the noise, and thus also their teacher.

Whilst the closing on his laptop had made them silent, it was his expression that kept them that way. Mordred squirmed in his seat as steely blue eyes swept the room, conveying the disappointment of their owner.

“Is there some kind of problem here?”

Complete silence met the question, though Mordred knew besides him Sefa would want to say something, anything to stop the disappointment, something he could sympathise with.

“Because I believe I told you we were taking this worksheet up at half past and it's now, two-twenty, and I hear far too much chatter. Does this mean you're all done early?”

Mordred let his eye fall guilty on his half finished work. He tried to console himself with the thought that he had done more work than most people in the class, but it failed at freeing him from the feeling completely.

“I'm asking you a question. Put up your hands if you're done.”

No one made even a move to raise their hand, instead Freya let out a breathy whimper, prompting Sefa to rub at the other girls arm to try and quiet her. He could tell that collectively they had pushed too far.

“I have to say, I'm very disappointed right now. You've had more than enough time to finish this activity and you know that if you're having trouble with something, _you come and ask me for help._ Not your classmates.” Mordred bit harder at his lip at the words, it was unusual for him and his friends to join in with the chatter, and that he had today was very out of character.

Taking a deep breath in, he exhaled slowly, before lifting his hand. It took a moment but pretty soon all eyes were turned in his direction. He could feel his cheeks and ears heating but was determined not to give in.

“Mr. Jernigan?” Mr. Pendragon said, one eyebrow raise, as he uncrossed his arms in what looked like an attempt to appear less intimidating.

“Sir, I'm not trying to be disrespectful.” The words ever hard to get out at first, but once he had started it became easier. “...But is this stuff really important?”

He physically and mentally braced, realising that there could be no way he would get away with this.

“Are you actually asking if it's important to learn about the First World War?” The look Arthur levelled at him, had Mordred frozen, before he blurted out.

“No!” Mordred’s eyes grew almost impossibly wide, and he hurried to add, “I just mean this stuff about why the war started. It just isn't very interesting…” He half-hearted waved his hand towards his work sheet, suddenly losing confidence in his comment, especially when Mr. Pendragon visibly sighed, and Mordred waited for him to start shouting, trying to make himself as small as possible.

Instead, their teacher began pacing left and right at the front of the classroom, shaking his head, leaving Mordred to feel even guiltier than he had before. Why did he have to open his mouth? Everything was, well not fine, but at least he didn’t feel as bad as he did now.

There was a long stretch of silence before he was finally answered.

“Would you prefer to just skip ahead to the bloody parts?” His teacher listed off various instances in history which would generally be considered more interesting than other events, and as he finished the silence settled back over every, but this time it carried a greater weight. Around him everyone was deadly still, someone passing outside the room would probably think it empty. For a moment Mordred even held his breath, not wanting to do anything to disturb the atmosphere. 

The shattering blow came when their teacher sighed, crossed back to his desk and pulled a well read book, stuffed to bursting with sticky notes from under some paperwork. 

“I was planning on reading excerpts from this book next week. It's called ‘Testament of Youth’ and was written by a woman named Vera Brittain. Vera was only a couple of years older than you when the war started. She was bright, motivated, and excited about life, particularly about getting her degree in English Lit at Oxford. When the war first started, she viewed it as a bit of an annoyance and a disruption to her studies, but for the most part her peers were excited by it. They wanted a chance to go to war and prove themselves. They had no idea the scale of destruction that was going to take place, and that the events of 1914 to 1918 would permanently change the world forever. They honestly thought they'd be home in time for Christmas.” Mordred’s ears picked up as Arthur’s voice grew thick, emotions slipping through his normally composed mask. Deep in his chest he felt something, a sort of resonance to the words, though he was at loss to explain it.

“Let's skip ahead, shall we? I'm going to read you two different passages…”

As the teacher read, everyone around him was enraptured, their previous anxiety forgotten, as they fell into the words being spoken. Then as he came to a stop the whole class remained transfixed, eager to devour the rest of Vera’s tale.

“I don't like lecturing you like this, but it's a slap in the face to the thousands of men and women who died so that you could be alive today to sit in this classroom. It would be an insult to their memories to read their real experiences like some kind of glorified fiction without understanding why they did what they did.” 

Clear blue eyes locked with his own light and cold ones, and Mordred had to fight not to swallow, as his throat suddenly became dry. Quite the opposite to his eyes, which were filled to the brim with tears wanting to be shed.

“Does that answer your question Mr. Jerigan?”

He licked his lips before speaking, “Yes, sir.”


	6. Geoffrey

When Arthur, the young history teacher had asked him about his old lesson plans, as well as to be able to use his room after hours whilst he worked on last minute preparations for the quite frankly silly Ofsted inspection they were having.

This sort of namby pamby thing didn’t exist back when he had started teacher and quite frankly he found his fellow teachers reactions to be completely over the top. But he decided to oblige young Mr. Pendragon as he had grown fond of the teacher’s method of interacting with his students. That and he happened to know that Arthur was intending to bring Merlin along with him and it was rather obvious that he had quite a fancy for the school’s newest teacher.

It had taken his a while, but he had managed to gather up all of his former lesson notes, so when the pair of the all but tumbled through the room door, he had them ready to hand straight over.

Shaking his head just a fraction of an amount at how fast paced the young teachers were, he continued packing away his things as if they weren’t even there, until he clicked the buckle of his bag closed, before he finally acknowledging them.

Leaning across his desk he picked up a large stack of papers, crossing over to Arthur and unceremoniously plonking them on top of the books Arthur already carried.

“Ah Arthur, there you are. Here are the plans you requested. You might need to… update them a little.” The blond’s eyes widened and he made a silent o with his mouth.

 

“Geoffrey, these are handwritten.” That was the first thing out of Arthur’s mouth since entering the room, which almost, _almost_ got Geoffrey to roll his eyes.

“Yes, I haven't taught year ten for quite some time.” Surely it should have been obvious that he hadn’t had cause to update his lesson plans as he no longer needed them to actually teach, of course however Arthur didn’t made the connection.

“So you don't have a notebook file? Or a PowerPoint?” 

“Paper and pencil were good enough when I started in this profession,” he said, sighing a little in wishful remembrance. Opening his mouth he was about to regale the pair of them with a story from back in the old days, only for Arthur to stop him in his tracks.

“Yes, I've heard your tirade before! Thank you, I'm sure these will be extremely helpful.”

“You're welcome,” he nodded, glad to be of service and glad to be appreciated.“Good luck tonight, boys. You know, I remember the days before all this Ofsted nonsense. My how the times have changed.” He shook his head, hiking his bag strap father up, then with a nod to both of them, made his way out.  
The door clicked shut behind him, and as he made his way down the corridor, he shook his head to himself, young love would never change.


	7. Gwaine

Gwaine shook his head as he headed down the corridor, there was no way Arthur and Merlin were still in the building. It they were someone would have seen them by now, surely. He rounded the corner, his destination coming into view.

He decided against knocking, and instead just leant his whole weight against the door, fully expecting it to be locked, and was thus extremely surprised when it gave under his weight and he almost ended up on the ground.

He stumbled for a moment, before righting himself, eyes widening when they fell on Arthur and Merlin.

“You are still here, I was sure you'd have gone home.” He was sure he looked more than a little bit surprised. He snapped his round to face Merlin full on when the younger teacher let out a questionably laugh.

“Home? Who has time to go home?”

“The olds?” He grimaced as he answered, knowing it would be of no comfort. “Anyways, the rest of us are down in the staffroom if you want to join.” Just as the last word left his lips he caught site of Arthur, behind Merlin, waving furiously, in the gesture to stop! His eyes widened for a fraction of a second, and he tried to backtrack. “Although it's a bit chaotic downstairs and there might be bloodshed over the queue for the printer soon.”

Though of course, slightly naive at times, Merlin completely missed the point, and instead turned to Arthur to seek his thought, eventually settling on him going down to fetch a few slices, before returning.

Gwaine tracked Merlin out of the corner of his eye, until he was well out of hearing distance, before sliding eyes over to Arthur.

“And why precisely are you keeping our resident twink locked up in your tower?” His tone was slightly accusing, only slightly., but Arthur narrowed his eyes anyway.

“First of all, he's not a twink. Have you seen his shoulders? And his arms are surprisingly muscled under those sleeves.” Arthur’s pen was suddenly in his face, jabbing at his shoulder to punctuate each word. “But, more importantly,it's for his own good. He's really behind Gwaine. You should have seen him freak out earlier, he was almost crying. And I love you lot, but the last thing he needs right now are distractions. I can keep him on track much easier up here and with any luck he'll be on his way home by nine or ten.” 

Gwaine allowed Arthur that, point, but then batting the pen away countered, “and what about you?”

“I'll sleep when I'm dead.” It was Gwaine’s turn to narrow his eyes this time.

“Arthur.”

“What?”

“You can't throw away your career over a crush.” But as the words fell from his tongue, he realised his error. This wasn’t just a simple crush, Gwaine had seen Arthur crushing on someone before, and he absolutely did not go as far as risking his career for them, no…  
He was completely head over heels in love with Merlin. Maybe some more teasing was in order. Perhaps he could get Arthur to admit it.


	8. Leon

Leon looked round at the sound of dragging feet, easily spotting Arthur as he all but shuffled into the staffroom. Without pausing he grabbed an unclaimed mug of coffee, passing it off to Arthur as he drew close.

“How you feeling today, Champ?” He asked, watching as Arthur winced into the morning sunlight.

“You are a Godsend Leon. If Gwen hadn't snapped you up already I would propose right now.” Arthur’s words were almost lost in the drink as he all but gulped it down.

“That bad, eh?”

“I think I slept at some point.” Leon found his own eyes closing in sympathy at the answer. “I mean, it was two and then it was not two and my alarm went off so I must have slept for that in-between bit.”

“Fuck me, you're rough. As your doctor, I recommend an aggressive regime of coffee. Today is at least a four-cup day.” As he said the words, he was already looking around for another coffee to offer Arthur.

“You've got a PhD in English lit, but you make a valid point. Today is definitely a four-cup day.” Leon looked back round, watching as Arthur curled forwards over his drink. He opened his mouth to dismiss the comment on his degree.

When Gwaine, carrying a barely conscious Elena arrived, Leon had a tough time not face-planting at the sight they made.

“Hello lads, alright?”

“Alright, Gwen's only cried once so far and she's gone ahead to the office already. Last minute printing. Speaking of which.” His words were slightly distorted around a yawn, before he waved at the coffee pot, “she'll probably be ready for this by now.”

He turned away to fix another mug, continuing the conversation over his shoulder, turning back just in time to see Elena bump her shoulder against Arthur’s.

You doing alright there, Sunshine?” She asked, receiving only a confused sound in return. “You have to drink that coffee, Darling, you don’t just absorb it through osmosis.”

“Right.”

Gwaine, then, being the child that he was, started chanting as if they were students, encouraging each other to get totally sloshed. From his left he heard Elena actually agree with the suggestion, and so with a sign, Leon lent forwards a touch, and pressed two fingers to the bottom of the mug tipping it and forcing Arthur to either drink it or wear it.

“So really Arthur, how are you? Did you get everything done?” Asked Leon, now Arthur had a good amount of caffeine in him, they were more likely to get an answer.

“Of course I did. I'm a boss. Books marked, lessons planned and practiced, outlines outlined, the works.” Arthur said, with confidence, and Leon rolled his eyes before rounding on Gwaine.

“Pay up,” He made a, hand it over gesture.

“Hang on, how did Merlin get on? Is he ready?” Gwaine asked, and Leon mentally cursed, they were supposed to forget about that part.

“Of course, he was done before I was.” Arthur said it as if it should have been totally obvious.

“So it's a draw,” said Elena said with a smirk, the same time as Gwaine cried, “balls!”

“Which means Mith and Gwen take all,” Leon muttered, annoyed at being foiled.

“What the hell is going on?” asked Arthur, of course whilst he was awake enough to answer questions, his brain wasn’t in gear to put two and two together and get anything other than three.

“We had a betting pool going on which of one of you was going to finish. Only Mith and Gwen believed both of you were going to be ready on time.” He decided to go easy on their friend and enlighten him, though he was not in the slightest bit grateful.

“Gosh, thanks guys.”

“Hey now, I bet that you were going to be too soft and sacrifice your own work for Merlin's. I think that's a good assertion to cast on your character!” Gwaine put in, with a sudden energy. Leon wished he knew where the other man had found it, so he could get some also.

“And what?” Arthur turned to him, two blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You two thought I'd be selfish and only worry about getting myself ready for the inspection?”

“No, that's what Will thought,” Elena said, saving Leon from Arthur’s wrath. “Leon and I thought Merlin could probably pull himself through alright and couldn't believe you'd be stupid enough to not get your own work done.”

Now that Leon actually thought about it, of course he lost the bet, as time went on it was becoming increasingly clear that Arthur harboured some sort of strong feels for Merlin.

“Such support. Much camaraderie,” Arthur resorted to memes, as was his tendency recently, having discovered tumblr.

“Oh shut up, it's too early for memes,” Gwaine waved an arm around and Leon had to duck, so as to avoid being hit in the face, something Elena failed to do. Instead you gasped a hold of the offending arm, pulling it close to her chest so it could do no more damage. “Actually, shit, no it's not. It's half seven.” Everyone froze. That meant Ofsted would be here any minute now, breathing down their necks, waiting for the smallest slip up.

The silence that had fallen was shattered not a minute later, when the door flew open and Merlin came tumbling in, this and and clothes in disarray.

“I think the inspectors are here!”


	9. Freya

She felt completely in her element, gliding along the mostly smooth ice of the temporary rink, besides her Daegal was managing to keep pace, however he was nowhere near as graceful as her, that and he had landed on his butt twice in the 15 minutes they had been out on the rink.

Taking a diagonal step she closed some of the distance between them, her hand twitching towards him, in an aborted movement. There was a giggle from Sefa, behind her that had Freya slowing for a moment to shoot a glance over her shoulder. Her cheeks warmed, and she let her eyes fall to the ground, dark hair falling in a curtain between her and her friends.

There was a racket of someone’s skates banging against the floor, as their owner fought to remain upright. Freya’s eyes lifted searching for the source of the sound, only to land on her history teacher.

It seemed she wasn’t the only one to have noticed, for the moment she went to point him out, Daegal cut in loudly, “isn’t that Mr. Pendragon?”

“Yeah, and that’s Mr. Emrys.” Mordred was suddenly next to Freya, his own sharp voice right next to her ear. They watched as Mr. Emrys turned, heading back towards Mr. Pendragon where he was desperately clinging to the rink wall, feet unsteady underneath him.

“Let’s say hi.” Daegal was suddenly moving forwards, Freya made to catch him, sure their teachers didn’t really want to see them outside of school, but before she did he shouted in greeting.

“Mr. Emrys! Mr. Pendragon!”

The pair turned in almost perfect unison, a large smile spreading over Mr. Emrys’ face. On the other hand the history teacher’s face remained blank, staying that way even as they closed in.

Halting with relative ease, Freya, grabbed ahold of Daegal’s jacket as the boy failed to slow himself down, and stopped him before he ploughed into the teachers.

There was a few moments of awkward silence, between the two group.

“Hello.” Freya said breaking it, letting a shy smile spread over her face.

“How are you all doing?” asked Mr. Emrys, “enjoying your weekend?”

“Yes, we've been saving up all month for a trip to the palace.” Mordred was besides her again, and they all bobbed their heads in agreement.

“And it's nice to be out of the house for a bit.” Sefa’s comment was quiet, and Freya murmured in sympathy, wanting to reach out to the other girl.

“Ow. I, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened,” he said in a rush. 

“Sirs.” Daegal’s voice was tight and slightly strained, Freya knew he would have stopped talking there if Kara haven’t taken that moment to jab him in the side.

“Valiant didn't go into detail, but I guess he had something balls happen to him that made him act that way? Anyway, he said he was sorry to Sefa which is all I wanted and I apologized for hitting him. I didn't really want to hurt him. And I'm sorry for disappointing you both.” Freya shuffled closer, or as close as she could get without crashing into him, offering silent reassurance.

“It's already forgiven.” The relief they felt was almost palpable. “Everyone makes mistakes and I know I can trust you to never make that one again.” Freya nodded vigorously, glad that there would be no hard feelings between student and teacher.

“Seconded.” 

“Cheers, Sirs. I'm glad I ran into you here, I didn't fancy making a speech at school. Why are you out here anyway?” Daegal asked, Freya thought it good question. It was rare to see teachers outside of school, let alone more than one.

They looked at each other, a silent conversation going on between them, Freya lifted an eyebrow. Surely they should know why they were there?

“Professional development exercise,” Freya narrowed her eyes, but it seemed Mr. Emrys was paying her no mind. “Mr. Kilgharrah wants to foster bonds between his staff. Ice skating is a great trust builder.”

“Yes, exactly that.” The history teacher nodded quickly, almost too quickly, her suspicions only grew more when they suddenly made excuses to leave, with just a tiny bit too much enthusiasm.

Before any of them knew what was happening, the pair were waving goodbye, making their ways off of the ice surprisingly fast given, that they had caught Mr. Pendragon just as he was about to fall.

Freya blinked owlishly, next to her Mordred’s mouth gapped open.

“What was that about?” Kara asked, Freya shrugged at the other girl, just as baffled as her.

“Do they really think you’re fooling anyone?”

“There’s no way you could miss how they feel for each other.”

“Maybe they’re just shy?” Compared to her friends Freya’s voice was quiet, but even so all eyes turned to her.

“No way is Pendragon shy!” Daegal shook his head.

“But Emrys might be?” She tried to rescue her suggestion, using the fact that none of them really knew the chemistry teacher, but no one appeared to want to accept that idea.

“Nah, I think they’re just idiots.”


	10. Merlin

Merlin hastily shoved the last of this classes books into his bag, making sure to click the straps closed lest he end up dropping them, _again_.

Heading out the door his fingers fumbled with his room key, anxious nerves making him more clumsy than usual. His last class had over run slightly and now he was trying to regain some lost time, he knew Will would have a rant at him once they set off it he was much later, but he couldn’t leave without saying goodbye to Arthur first. Finally succeeding he pocketed his key and headed out of the science corridor. 

There was still a fairly large number of students milling about in the main part of the schools, their presence meaning Merlin had to pay extra attention as he weaved in between bodies. Taking the side stairs, he eventually reached Arthur’s classroom, only to find the lights already off and the door locked tight. 

“Damn it.” Merlin muttered under his breath, he thought if he hurried he might still be able to catch Arthur in the car park. His phone buzzed with a text from Will, but Merlin paid it no mind, he knew exactly what it would say so no point in wasting even more time.

Navigating his way back down, and out of the school took slightly less time than the way up had, and he soon found himself out outside.

It took Merlin less than five minutes to spot Arthur, the blond leaning into the back door of his car.

Sparing a moment to check for traffic, Merlin sprinted across the tarmac, yelling as he grew closer.

“Where the hell have you been?” He practically skidded to a stop less than a foot away from where Arthur was. “I couldn’t find you anywhere and Will won’t get off my ass about leaving.”

Arthur straightened, and Merlin became suddenly aware of how close to the other man he was stood.

“You must have just missed me.” Arthur said, leaning casually against the still open door of his car, in such a way that Merlin had to fight to keep himself under control. “I was in the office with Val and came down here to pack before saying goodbye.”

“Yeah, well…” He suddenly couldn’t stop himself any longer and and as he continued speaking, punctuated his words, with a weak slap to Arthur’s chest. “Don’t scare me like that. I thought you’d gone already.”

“You gonna miss me?” Arthur’s eyes locked with his, a clash of blue on blue, before the other batted his eyelashes. 

“Not anymore.” Merlin huffed, batting at Arthur’s chest once more.There was a pause, before Merlin continued, “how is Val doing anyways?”

“Spending Christmas with his grandparents.” There was a hint of gladness in Arthur’s answer.

“Good, good…” Merlin suddenly found his mind totally blank, and the silence between them stretched, until Arthur broke it by tapping his thumb ring on the roof of his car.

With a slight nervous laugh, Merlin said, “I guess this is it then... It feels weird to think that I won't see you for weeks when I don’t think I've gone longer than three days since September, even on half-term!”

“Yeah, well that's what you get for living a million miles away.” Arthur shot back, and Merlin pouted before answering.

“Hey, it's not like you're staying put either. Aren't you and Morgana getting on a plane tonight?”

“Tomorrow, Christmas in Hawaii, how traditional. And I still have to pack.” Arthur didn’t sound entirely pleased by the prospect of Christmas in the sun, and Merlin found himself rolling his eyes. _The total prat._

“Listen to yourself! Boo hoo, I have to spend Christmas in paradise.” 

“Home has its attractions.” There was a tone behind Arthur’s words, that made Merlin pause, trying to decipher it.  
“Yeah...” He locked his gaze with Arthur, hoping he had come to the correct conclusion, and wasn’t about to make the worse mistake of his life. “Listen Arthur, I just – ”

A car horn cut him off, and Merlin physically jump an inch or some into the air in shock.

“Merlin! It's a four hour drive and I refuse to be on the road still at midnight! Snog him and get in the bloody car!” Heat flooded Merlin’s ears and face at Will’s words.

“Such a lovely chap.” Arthur’s comment cut through some of Merlin’s embarrassment, and to cover that that still remained he turned on Will.  
“I don't know how Mithian stands him, and I don't know how I stand him for that matter.” He scowled in the direction of Will’s car, and though he couldn’t see his friends face, he could clearly see Merlin’s as the car horn went off again.

“You better go before your ride takes off,” Arthur said, regaining Merlin’s attention.

“I wouldn't put it past him either.” Merlin shook his head, breaking eye contact. “Merry Christmas I guess. I'd say I'd text you but you know home has notoriously spotty signal.”

“And I'll be in Hawaii, but I'll have access to email at the hotel.” Will then took that moment to blast the horn yet again, and Merlin hesitated just a moment more.

“Fuck it, come here, Merry Christmas, prat.” He pulled Arthur towards him, into a slightly wonky hug.

“Merry Christmas, noob.”

They broke apart far too quickly in Merlin’s opinion, but when Will chose that moment to hit his horn again, it seemed he no longer had a choice. With one last lingers look at Arthur, he span on his heels and took off back across the car park, skidding to a halt next to the car door, and throw one last wave at Arthur, before they were off out of the car park, and down the road. 

Slumping back into his seat, Merlin pulled out his phone when it vibrated with a new message, holding a rapid fire conversation with Arthur until he confessed that _maybe_ he would have kissed Merlin.

Eyes wide, Merlin banged the flat of his hand against the dashboard.

“We have to turn around.”

“What? Merls, what are you talking about?” Will asking, his eyes flicking to Merlin for a split second.

“Arthur…I have to get back there,” Merlin’s fingers tightened around his phone, and he chewed at his bottom lip as he waited for Will to turn the car around.

To Merlin it felt like an age before they finally caught sight of the school building, and the second Will pulled his car to a halt, Merlin threw himself out of the vehicle barely remembering to grab his stuff as he did so, and almost falling in his haste, he didn’t care. All that mattered was getting to Arthur. 

He could see Arthur’s anxiety clear on his face, and with a sudden burst of confidence, Merlin ditched his bag, and practically leapt into Arthur’s arms pressing his lips against Arthur’s in a cold lipped kiss.

Sensitive skin brushed against sensitive skin, needing more Merlin let his mouth drop open, feeling as Arthur responded almost instantly in kind. Arthur’s hand was on his face, pulling him closer ever still and so Merlin wrapped his arms around Arthur, wanting.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Merlin registered the sound of a car engine, and tires squealing against tarmac, but could not bring himself to care. But when he caught the sound of someone wolf-whistling from behind him that did break through his thoughts, and prompted Arthur to pull back.

Plastering a sloppy grin over his mouth Merlin muttered.

“Whoops.”

“Whoops as in we kissed or whoops as in we just made out in front of our students?” Arthu raised an eyebrow to an impressive height at the comment, and Merlin jumped at the chance to be cheeky.

“Definitely the second one. Could have got a lot more accomplished if the little buggers had fucked off a little faster.” He grinned wider, and leant to to nuzzle at Arthur’s neck.

“I take it you aren't going home tonight?” It was Merlin’s turn to raise a pointed eyebrow.

“There'll be trains tomorrow.”

“I love trains. What a glorious invention.” Arthur’s voice was pitched low, as he all but whispered into Merlin’s ear, his breath tickling.

“Agreed. Shall we drive?”

“How much trouble do you think we're going to be in when the whole student body finds out we've hooked up?” Of course he had to try and ruin the moment by bringing in work. Merlin shook his head, butting at Arthur’s chin. They had to break apart to climb into Arthur’s car, and Merlin studiously avoided making eye contact with any of the student who still lingered, even those that offered them silent encouragement from the corner of his vision.

Once they were settled, Merlin asked.

“Can't say that I care much right now. How long does it take to get to your house?”

Arthur met his eyes, brushing on hand up through his hair, before answering.

“Ten minutes, give or take.”

“Mmm,” Merlin hummed in an almost catlike purr. “Make it take less.”


End file.
